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As the protests against the revocation of wheat subsidies by Islamabad have intensified, Gilgit-Baltistan continues to remain at a standstill.
People in groups of thousands are now marching from their villages to Gilgit City, intending to put up a united front against the central regime. The people who were previously protesting in their villages over their grievances are now marching towards Gilgit city while chanting slogans of "Chalo Gilgit." They have now realised that their demands will not be met if they do not make their voices heard by senior leaders. According to an estimate, approximately ten thousand people are already participating in a massive protest at the Ittehad Chowk in Gilgit City. These rallies, organised by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, are an attempt to display their agitation against the central and local regimes. A protester said, "We have been protesting here for more than a month now, yet we have not given up, and we will not give up." "And even after this, if the government does not listen to our demands, we will take action to grab our freedom," he added. Another protestor, while addressing a rally, said that the level of atrocities by the regime has fallen to such a level that "they are now targeting our basic needs like food, and we will not tolerate it at any cost." Further, another protester from Gilgit, while addressing the problems of the people, said, "I want to call upon the regime, which used to count us in mere hundreds, to call us unemployed and useless. They are now welcome to come and see if their estimations are correct.". "Let me tell you that this is a group of poor people; we are the people who have been oppressed and we are a group of farmers," he said. "We are here to fight for our rights--for food, education, and electricity. We are not here to represent any particular group or party but they are here to raise their voices to get their basic rights," he said. (ANI)
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